Nokia predicts 'very modest' growth for worldwide cell phone market in 2001
Semiconductor Business News
(06/12/01 11:35 a.m. EST)
HELSINKI, Finland -- In another bad sign for the industry, Nokia Group here today announced that worldwide sales of cellular phones will show only "very modest" growth in 2001 over last year. In 2000, Nokia said that worldwide shipments of cell-phone products reached about 405 million units.
Earlier this year, Nokia and other cell-phone makers predicted that worldwide sales of these products would range from 450-to-500 units in 2001. Now, citing weak demand in the United States and other regions, vendors are slashing their forecast of cell-phone shipments for 2001.
Nokia gave no indication of the growth rates for cellular phones in 2001. But the company reduced its own forecast for the next three quarters, citing a slowdown in sales in the U.S. market.
"We have been able to successfully follow our set strategy of increasing market share in phones and heading for the leadership position in third generation mobile networks," said Jorma Ollila, chairman and CEO of Nokia
"However, we have recently seen a weakening in market conditions to levels below our earlier estimates," he said. "We believe that this slowdown is a result of a general market deterioration-driven by economic uncertainty, the ongoing technology transition and less aggressive marketing by the operators," he added.
Based on the first two months of the current quarter, the company estimates year-on-year sales growth for the second period to be somewhat below 10%, compared with its earlier estimate of 20%. Diluted pro forma earnings for the quarter are expected to be in the range of $0.13-to-$0.14, compared with the previous estimate of approximately $0.17.
Nokia is currently revisiting its outlook for the second half of the year. Updated estimates for the second half of 2001 will be released on July 19 in conjunction with the company's second quarter earnings release. |
